How old were your big babies when they stopped needing a nappy at bedtime? Leo has been potty trained since he was two and a half. He seemed to take to it really easily. We obviously had some accidents along the way but he was generally pretty good and I found it relatively easy going. We sometimes still have a few close calls when he is really engrossed in something and feels he doesn’t want to miss out on any of the action but I feel like we’re coming through the other side of that now and of late he’s been brilliant.
Leo is now four and four months. Some mornings he will wake with a completely dry nappy, other mornings it can be so full I don’t know how it’s not leaked! There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. His routine is the same every night… Milk about 20 minutes to half an hour before he goes up to bed, brush teeth, wash face and then have the biggest wee you can possibly manage. He is sometimes troublesome and creates quite a fuss for brushing and I always tell him that we’d have to revisit West Cobb Dentistry — periodontist in Georgia if he didn’t brush properly. That works.
I’ve heard lots of people talk about boys taking longer at this sort of thing than girls (can that even be true?), I’ve heard it’s all about their body chemistry and they won’t be dry at night until something clicks and wakes them to let them know they need the loo, I’ve heard lots of children up till the age of five still wear a nappy at night.
I did wonder if he was actually weeing first thing in the morning and just being lazy because he had a nappy on so I tested my theory. I was wrong. He wee’d at 4am. So that was fun.
What are your experiences of this? How old was your child before they were dry at night? And do you have any tips on how to achieve it or do I just need to wait for his body to wire itself correctly so he knows to wake up?
Hi! I don’t know if I’ve just been lucky (?) Both my eldest and middlest were dry at the same time as we were day time potty trained. (2&4m & 2&9m) We didn’t use pull ups, just ‘puppy pads’ under their bedsheet in case there was an accident and there never was! With both of them we cut down their bed time drink to about an inch or so of water or milk in a cup in the months leading up to training . This way they didn’t have a full bladder for bed. Planning on doing the same for my little girl next spring too.
Well, Becky, this couldn’t be more timely as I’m about to go and check on Fern after her first night intentionally pull-up free… She’s 2 and 10 months and has been toilet trained for about 4 months. I was intending to keep the overnight pull-ups for a long while yet but for the last month or so they’ve been completely dry in the morning and it just feels wasteful to use them (although I will re-use if they’re definitely clean and not scrunched up too much).
About 2 months ago on holiday she was really hot at night and didn’t want to wear her pull-ups. I was tired and cranky and acquiesced thinking she’d been dry at night for a while so what’s the big deal. I soon regretted it at 3am (when we had to get up to go to the airport at 6am) she was crying out having soaked the bed. Not fun.
So I’ve been reluctant to make any changes since and pretty much all of the developmental changes we implement are generally reactive to her cues rather than enforced. It just felt instinctively that now seemed to be the time to do this. So it will be interesting to see what I will be presented with this morning! I’ll keep you posted.
How did you get on? This sounds identical to my daughter…we also tried without pull-ups after she was dry for months and she wet the bed too! So strange, must be somehow comforting to know the pull up is there even if not needed. I’m about ready to try again without too so interested in how you got on!
We were lucky too, we did daytime potty training at 2 and 9 months and she sorted that in a week. We left a nighttime nappy (I use washable nappies) on for 2-3 weeks but from the time she was dry in the day they were dry at night, so I wondered why on earth I was washing a clean dry nappy every day! Went out and bought a waterproof mattress for her bed and she’s never had a night time accident, 6 months and counting. I hope my second is as straight forward!
I know he’s not waking with the sensation but maybe he needs to feel wet and the nappy is absorbing it so he doesn’t know? Maybe try no nappy but do a double sheet with waterproof layers between so you just whip the top one off in the event of an accident. We also used to do a dream wee like a dream feed get them up and put them on the toilet as we came to bed. Worked really well but don’t worry I believe sometimes it doesn’t kick in until around 7 xxx
Love the double sheet I idea Em! Thanks for the tip xx
Same week as day dryness. 2 years and 6 months. We had one accident and something just clicked. I’m such a proponent of waiting until they’re ready as it makes life easier for you. My MIL pressured my SIL into starting earlier than needed and her daughter ended up having accidents for months.
All children are different. Go with your gut.
If it helps we do no drinks after 6.30pm dinner (bed at 7.30pm) and one final wee before bed.
My son is four in December and we stopped his nighttime nappies about two weeks ago. He’s also been potty trained since around two and a half. He was the one who decided!! He had been saying for a while he was a big boy and didn’t wear nappies in the day so why at night, then one evening he was just adamant he didn’t want to put the nappy on so we just went with it. Touch wood it’s been absolutely fine, we just make sure there is a potty out and the toilet seat thingy so he can go easily during the night if he needs to, plus we have a night light by the toilet so he can see where he’s going and what he’s doing! Just as the daytime training I think it’s all about timing and if they’re ready they’ll do it. His nappies has been completely dry for a while and he was putting himself on the toilet as soon as he woke up so it wasn’t much change really. Don’t think you can force these things. I remember reading somewhere that they only usually have developed enough bladder control by age 4/5 so i wouldn’t worry too much.
I haven’t really got any advice as we have only just day time potty trained, my little girl is 2 and 4 months. Sometimes her nappy is dry in the morning, other times it is really full so planning to leave it for a while yet! The HV did say to me at her two year check that they wouldn’t be concerned about a child not being dry at night until they are 7 so sounds like there is no rush! Xxx
Hi Becky. Having gone through this with one of mine right the way up to referral with bed alarms I can honestly say don’t worry and just wait for it to ‘click’ it really does just happen when they’re ready. I felt like such a failure not being able to manage this one and got myself in such a stress trying silly timed lifting, washing duvets daily, using plastic sheets with no absorbency to see if that would promote waking but when talking to other parents at school there were actually far more in the same situation than I expected- and around the age of 7. The advice we were given on referral was actually to increase fluid intake but stop them drinking about an hour before bed. They said not to lift and definitely no ribena! We were given a water chart to reach the target 8 glasses a day and this is meant to help them to learn the sensation of being desperate to go. I think this is what helps the ‘click’ to happen. If we’re constantly lifting them and making them go before they’re really desperate to they won’t associate wee-ing with the sensation of the urgency it takes to wake them, if that makes sense. No idea about the ribena but we never had it anyway so not sure if cutting that would make a difference! It is a big pain and you worry that your house has the wee aroma all the time but it does end!
Amanda thanks so much for this! I have heard about blackcurrant cordials so assuming it’s a similar thing to the Ribena. xx
I’ve heard that being dry at night is a hormones thing and not something you can train / teach. My little boy is just over 2 and nowhere near potty training. There’s no rush as far as I’m concerned.
I read it was a hormonal thing too.
My daughter is almost 5 and has been dry at night since she was 2 1/2. My son is almost 7 and has been dry in the day since before he was 3 but wet at night. We agreed not to pressure him and wait until he was ready. He started to worry about it so we decided that was enough to start helping him.
My husband did loads of research and we decided to try an alarm. We didn’t restrict fluid at all and he drinks right up to bed time. Previously we tried to let him get used to the sensation but he honestly isn’t bothered about being wet and would happily sleep through. We also tried to 11pm wee but this didn’t help either. We realised he is such a deep sleeper that he just wasn’t waking up. The alarm proved this as it would be ringing, vibrating and flashing and he would still sleep. We read that the alarm kick starts the hormone (no idea if this is true??). It was tough and for the first 5-6 days he peed twice a night at roughly the same time, around 12 and 4. We would go in wake him up, turn on the light. Swap bedding (two quilts and pillows are essential). After that maybe one accident and now we are on day 16 dry. He is so happy. We didn’t put any pressure on him and never once told him off. We are extremely proud of him!
I have a boy who is just 3 and has been day time trained for quite a few months, still a very full sometimes leaky nappy at night. He has restricted drinks and does a big wee but still a huge nappy. I’m just not going to rush it as I know boys that were 6 or 7 before they were fully dry at night, I’m sure he’ll get it at some point. After all, I can’t make it through the night without a wee!
It is hormonal- no amount of training will help. I have twin girls and they were day trained at 2yrs 9 months. One of my daughters was night dry a month later (although we kept her in pull ups as it was hard to say to one she could go without and not the other), my second daughter (now 4yrs 4 months) still has nappies hanging down to her knees they are so wet!
The nappies she wears are aged 4-7, and apparently it’s anything up to age 7 that is the ‘norm’ and only to worry after that (according to my paediatric friend).
I had pressure from my mother too, until I suggested she come and help with the additional bed linen washing, she soon stopped…